BRIDGEPORT --The district may be outsourcing the occupational therapy services received by about 500 students in an attempt to save money and provide more consistent services.

The city school board's personnel committee is recommending a plan by Interim School Superintendent Fran Rabinowitz in her attempt to "save money somewhere" and perhaps increase coverage to students.

"This was not arrived at lightly," Rabinowitz said.

"It is contrary to what I like to do. I like to build capacity within the district so I have oversight, but the cost savings here was phenomenal."

The district currently has five occupational therapists and four certified occupational therapy assistants, all full time, costing the district about $678,000 annually. Initial inquiries to potential vendors suggest the district could save $50,000 to $100,000 a year and get substitute coverage when therapists are absent.

The therapists, some of whom were at the personnel committee meeting last week, doubt the savings will be there.

"We love our jobs. We don't want to lose our jobs," said Mary Savoie, an occupational therapist with the district.

Savoie said district therapists, who are not unionized, are overworked. While state standards call for therapists to have a case load of 35 to 45 students, she is seeing 82. Students are assigned occupational therapists through meetings to determine special education services to be provided. The board was told the district is providing 330 hours of occupational therapy services to students.

Savoie said she believes that is an underestimation and said exploration by the Vallas administration into outsourcing the service was scrapped when it was deemed not to be cost effective.

Board Chairwoman Sauda Baraka said she doesn't want to lay off anyone, but called the budget real thin and that this plan might get children more services if absences are covered, without hiring additional staff.